Woe to you who laugh now ...

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
“Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.
“Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
“Woe to you, when all people speak well of you,
for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

The words of Christ in this passage speak to me of a people who believe that they do not need God. In the sentences leading up to this indictment Jesus speaks to his audience, and us, of the blessings of poverty, hunger, mourning and rejection. He calls these things blessings because they have the ability to turn our hearts to heaven.

Yet the things that many of us call blessings (like wealth and popularity) are things that feed our egos and cause us to look to ourselves instead of God. To be sure, he is not saying that money, food, happiness and friends are evil. He is simply saying that these things can morph into something bad when they distract our our hearts from heavenly things.

about bob

I am married, have two children and two grandchildren. I have worked as a soldier, technician, software designer and a pastor. I am now retired. My purpose in writing here is to share devotional thoughts from the scriptures. Check out the menu and icons above for more info.